Twelve Months Is A Year
by AuroraExecution
Summary: Deathmask tries to prove to Aphrodite he can date a girl for a substantial amount of time. When the girl happens to be Shaina, everyone fears for their lives...
1. Prologue: One Sunny Day

**Disclaimer: **Nope. I don't own Saint Seiya. I don't own either Deathmask or Shaina, or any of the other wonderful characters we all know and love. Actually, that is why I am writing random fanfiction. Because the series is not mine to do with as I will...

**Notes:** This is sort of a response to Niteskye's Challenge. I actually had the idea before she stated the challenge, but it was her urging that got me inspired to actually do something with it. Anyway, I know LSN is writing DMxShaina too, but I couldn't resist trying my hand. This is gonna take place sort of post-Hades happy-world. Everyone back to life, and all that. You know what I mean. Enjoy.

* * *

_Prologue: One Sunny Day_

_--_

"You couldn't!" Aphrodite shouted playfully across the room.

"I could!" Deathmask retorted indignantly.

"You could _not_. You would _kill_ her before the end of the first day. Or at least you'd try."

"I am not incapable of self-restraint!"

"Prove it, then. Find a girlfriend and stay with her for a significant amount of time."

Deathmask and Aphrodite had gotten into another of their famous arguments. To insult his friend, Deathmask had called Aphrodite a girl. Aphrodite had then replied that Deathmask would not know, since he had never had a girlfriend. Of course, this conversation had then led to the inevitable…Deathmask's rather nonexistent love life. Aphrodite said Deathmask would never have a girlfriend because he was incapable of handling another person in that kind of relationship.

To be honest, Deathmask realized, Aphrodite did have a point. The only close relationship he had with anyone was with Aphrodite, and that was due in great part to the fact that Aphrodite was not driven away by their constant bickering. It was odd, now that he thought about it, that Aphrodite had continued being his friend. But of course, part of their link was fighting with each other at least once a day, so Deathmask could not help but want to win the argument.

"Name a girl, and I'll do it," the Cancer Saint declared proudly. Aphrodite looked surprised for a moment before shrugging.

"All right. Shaina."

"Wha—?!" It burst out of him before he could stop himself. Shaina was one of the most Amazonian of the female Saints, and she had a temper to rival Deathmask's own. To make matters worse, the biggest problem was that Shaina had openly announced her love for Seiya, which would make his life—if Deathmask knew anything about women—very unpleasant. But then, Deathmask smiled. "All right," he said. "If you can make her agree to be my girlfriend, then I will date her for…three months."

"Three years," Aphrodite bargained. Deathmask's eyes bulged.

"Six months," the Cancer Saint returned.

"Three years." His friend was firm.

"Nine months."

"Three years."

"Twelve months."

"Deal." Aphrodite smiled. "Can you last a year with Shaina? We'll see."

"Can _you_ get her to agree to date me? Now, _that_ will be a feat." Aphrodite smiled mysteriously.

"I have ways, Angelo. I would say you'll regret this, but now I'm not so sure." The Pisces Saint glided gracefully out of the temple. Deathmask wondered what Aphrodite had meant by his last statement, and ultimately came up with only the thought that killing Aphrodite sounded like a very good plan at the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aphrodite went directly from Deathmask's temple to Milo's. The Scorpio Saint was always the first to come to mind when anyone needed help with relationships and/or plotting. Milo seemed to have a penchant for both. Aphrodite smiled to himself, feeling that Deathmask was definitely in for it.

"We're hooking up Shaina and Deathmask?" was Milo's first response to Aphrodite's story. The Scorpio Saint then spent several minutes laughing hysterically. "They'd _kill_ each other!" he choked out as he calmed down. Aphrodite smiled again.

"That's the point. Deathmask is not going to survive a _week_ with that woman, much less several months. Now, all I need is for you to go talk to her briefly." Milo grinned.

"I know exactly what to do." Aphrodite nodded in satisfaction.

"Good."

* * *

After Aphrodite departed, Milo made his way to the training grounds in the main part of Sanctuary. After practicing leisurely for a few minutes, he sat down and watched the other Saints mock-battle. As Shaina finished winning her fight, Milo gave her a few words of congratulations and then offered her a seat. Shaina sat down next to him, wiping her brow.

"What's up, Milo?" she asked cheerily.

"Oh, not much. You seem to be in a good mood today. Finally found a boyfriend?" The air around Shaina seemed to lower several degrees in temperature.

"No."

"Just as I thought. You're still hung up about Seiya. Well, well. I'm not surprised." Milo smiled a little as Shaina remained silent, probably flushing in indignation under her mask. "Anyway, I just came to tell you about a little bet that a few of us are holding. I know how you like gambling, eh?" Milo gave a charming smile. Shaina seemed to brighten, thinking they were off the subject of her unrequited obsession.

"What kind of bet?"

"Well, Mu was saying to me that you seemed like a pretty girl who could use a boyfriend. So, naturally, I said you still hadn't gotten over Seiya. We discussed it for a while, and finally some of us started a bet. Most of us have laid our money down on the fact that you're obsessed with Seiya. And from our conversation earlier, I see you're still not over him." Milo chuckled, allowing a slight mocking tone to creep into his voice. "Of course, we all know you wouldn't be able to date any other guy, much less Deathmask…" The Scorpio Saint slyly allowed himself to fade out. Shaina stood.

"You think I can't do it, Milo?" she demanded, teetering on the border of good-natured fun and indignant self-assurance. "All right, it's _on_. I'll prove to you that I can date another guy—"

"Deathmask."

"—Deathmask, even if I still like Seiya. I'll get over Pegasus sooner or later."

"Right. Then you better run along to Cancer temple and tell Deathmask the good news." Milo winked roguishly at her. He shook his head to himself as he walked away. Shaina never _could_ resist a challenge.

* * *

Deathmask was grumpily kicking his walls when he heard a noise from the front entrance to his temple. Grumbling in annoyance, he made his way to the door to see who was coming. He hoped whoever-it-was was only passing through and not trying to see him.

"Oi, Deathmask!" a female voice called. He peered into the bright sunlight that illuminated the form of his mysterious visitor. His well-figured female visitor.

"Shaina?" asked Deathmask, a rare look of adorable confusion on his face. The girl rolled her eyes.

"You're going to be my damn boyfriend, got it?" she snapped. The look of surprise on Deathmask's face was replaced by one of extreme irritation.

"You're not going to tell me what to do, bitch, got it?" he snarled back.

"Ah, ah, ah, Angelo," Aphrodite chided, entering the temple. "Remember what you said to me earlier?" Deathmask seemed to sag at the edges.

"Damn you, Aphro. I'm going to kill you someday." Aphrodite smiled evilly.

"You wouldn't dare. Anyway, I'm going to spread the good news to everyone."

"Good news?" Deathmask and Shaina demanded in unison.

"Why, you two are the new couple in Sanctuary," said Aphrodite, a look of feigned surprise on his delicate face. "I mean, we haven't had any new couples since Marin and Aiolia finally got together, and that was months ago." The Pisces Saint smiled sweetly again as he exited. Deathmask turned to his new girlfriend with a bad-tempered glare. Shaina responded with one of her own.

"Fine," Deathmask finally spat out. "You can be my damn girlfriend."

"Fine." There was a long silence. Deathmask intensified his glare.

"Need anything else?" he demanded. Shaina did not back down.

"Yeah. Go get Marin for me."

"I'm not your servant, whore. You go get her."

"You're my boyfriend. That means you do what I say, you bastard. Go get Marin."

"Make me."

"That can be arranged." Shaina moved her hand up into the air to start her attack.

"You really want to pick a fight with a Gold Saint, wench?" Shaina smirked at him.

"What of it?"

"I'd kill you."

"No you wouldn't. You're my boyfriend."

"So?"

"So you're not allowed to kill your girlfriend!"

"Oh-ho-ho. You want me to show you otherwise?"

* * *

From behind a pillar of the archway, Aphrodite and Milo exchanged a what-can-you-do glance. "You think it's safe to leave them here?" Milo demanded. Aphrodite shook his head.

"You think it's safe _not_ to leave them here?"

"You have a point. Let's go." The two Gold Saints tiptoed away from the forbidding aura that surrounded the Cancer temple.


	2. August

**Notes: **So I finally have time to update!! Spring break rocks. Yeah, this chapter is not my best, especially since the end kinda cuts off abruptly, but oh well. We'll just say it's a cliff hanger. I decided it would be July/August when they start dating, so that's why we're in August right now...and just as a warning, they will probably keep hating each other in September, and October is when stuff really begins to happen.

A huge thanks to all of my (eleven!) reviewers: LSN, Naotoki, Alysa, maddery, Niteskye, DeathIsVirtue, Anime 300, Lady Aisu, KohanaShunsgirl, Fire-Chan, and Fuego. (Sorry, I have a tendency to abbreviate people's pen names, especially with cutting of numbers.) Anyway, thanks a ton for reviewing!! I will try to write more in this fic whenever I can.

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* * *

**

_Month 1 – August_

The day after Deathmask and Shaina had become "official," a group of Gold Saints could be found meeting in Shaka's temple. "So Deathmask and Shaina are together?" asked Aiolia, "How did _that_ happen?" Camus threw his best friend a suspicious look.

"You had something to do with it, didn't you, Milo?"

"Of course I did," Milo replied, grinning. "Where there are relationships, there is me."

"How long do you think they'll stay together?" asked Kanon. "For that matter, how long do you think they'll stay alive?" Milo shuddered.

"I have my doubts," said the Scorpio Saint. "The two of them seem about to kill each other any minute."

"What do you think, Shaka?" demanded Kanon. Shaka blinked, then began to chant furiously.

"What are you doing, Shaka?" Aiolia asked curiously.

"Praying for the souls of those around them."

"Hey, guys!" Saga's quiet voice called into the temple as the Gemini Saint entered.

"No, Saga," Kanon began to cry out before he was interrupted by Milo.

"Saga…" said the scorpion slyly, "Have you heard the news yet?"

"News?"

"Deathmask and Shaina are officially dating." Saga froze, and the sound of gears winding down could almost be heard from the direction of his brain.

"Tha…ish…um…"

"Saga has lost the power of speech," moaned Kanon, taking his brother by the arm and leading him towards the entrance. "Come on, Saga. I'll take you back to the temple now."

Shortly after Saga and Kanon left, Aphrodite entered. "Good morning!" said the Pisces Saint cheerily. A few of the others eyed him warily.

"You're a bit cheerful today, Aphrodite," Camus remarked. Aphrodite grinned.

"Yes, well. One's best friend dating an Amazon…it does not happen every day. In fact, Camus, maybe Milo and I should set _you_ up with someone." The Aquarius Saint gave him a do-it-and-I'll-make-you-a-human-ice-cube look.

"No."

"Aww, Camus. You're no fun," Milo whined, "You could use a girlfriend."

"No."

"Whoa, is everyone here?" interrupted Mu, entering the Virgo temple. "And why is Shaka chanting?"

"Deathmask and Shaina are official!" cried Aiolia. "Shaka is praying for our souls." Mu nodded, not at all surprised.

"I see."

"You're not afraid they'll kill each other?" Aphrodite remarked, and Mu smiled.

"They will try, and fail. You see, they are such a volatile couple because both of them still have childish notions of relationships. Shaina is still in the you're-my-boyfriend-so-do-what-I-say stage, while Deathmask expects a girlfriend to fall at his feet. However, if one day they can manage to see through that, then they may make a wonderful pair."

"Deathmask in love," chortled Milo, "I can't wait to see that." Aphrodite smiled mysteriously.

"Actually, Milo," the Pisces Saint murmured, "I can see it happening. I mean, sure, it started out as a bet between Deathmask and myself, but now I'd be glad to lose the bet if it meant Deathmask could discover that he does, in fact, have a heart." Aiolia let loose a grin.

"Well, then," declared the lion, "Shall we give them a hand?" Shaka paused in his chanting and opened one eye.

"You want to interfere in Deathmask and Shaina's affairs? Are you sick of living?" the Buddha demanded. Aiolia grinned.

"Well, I owe Deathmask some torture. I mean, I don't hold any serious grudges against him anymore, but surely this is a chance not to be missed. And it's for his own good." Aphrodite and Milo exchanged grins.

"I'm in," said Aphrodite.

"And so are Camus and I," declared Milo as well. Camus gave him an '_am_ I?' look. Mu smiled.

"I'd like to help." Everyone immediately glanced at Shaka.

"Um…" Shaka hemmed.

"Come on, Shaka," urged Aiolia.

"Well…"

"Shaka…just say yes," Mu told him calmly. "We already came through ice, fire, and death. Don't worry about doing such little things, yes?" Shaka nodded slowly.

"Fine," he murmured grudgingly, a slight smile touching his lips.

* * *

A week later found Deathmask busy sulking in his temple. He had thrown a few things at the twins when they passed through, and then spent an hour carving up his wall. Heat typically made him disagreeable, and his new girlfriend was not helping. If it weren't for Aphrodite's challenge, he would undoubtedly be throwing Shaina over a cliff right this moment. She spent most of her time telling him to do her bidding, and getting angry because he ignored her. Every afternoon, she would arrive at his temple for a conjugal visit to prove they were still in a relationship, and it would always result in Shaina screaming, Deathmask cursing, and both separating in a sulk. 

As the afternoon wore away, Deathmask's mood grew steadily fouler. He was not looking forward to "the visit" and the insufferably moist heat was wearing away at his patience. Shaina crashed into his temple much later than usual, around sundown that evening. "Deathmask!" she yelled, "Kanon insulted me. Go challenge him!" The Cancer Saint's right eye ticked a few times, and his aura seemed to grow darker.

"What the hell?" he demanded, his voice dangerously calm.

"He said I was an obsessive bitch with mental problems! Aren't you going to _do_ anything about it?"

"You _are_ an obsessive bitch with mental problems. Why _should_ I do anything about it?"

"Because you're my boyfriend! Why can't you be a gentleman like Seiya?" Deathmask sneered at her.

"It's always Seiya, isn't it? No one can ever live up to Seiya. Well, I have news for you. You're never going to have Seiya. He doesn't like you."

"He defeated you!"

"No, Shiryuu defeated me, and I respect the Dragon for that. Seiya didn't even fight me. What's so great about Seiya anyway?"

"I love him!"

"You're _obsessed_ with him. There's a difference."

"You forget that he's seen my face. I'm bound to him now. Like you'd understand, you chauvinistic bastard." Deathmask scoffed.

"Athena already released you from that attachment. That's not why you like him. You act like no one on the face of the planet is as good as Seiya, and then you try to guilt-trip me into being an imitation of Mr. Goody-goody Dumbass. Figure it out, wench. I'm not your damn doll. I won't ever be like Seiya 'cause I'd rather kill myself than turn into that idiot." Shaina stared open-mouthed for a few seconds before responding.

"Shut up! Son of a bitch. Go to hell!"

"Been there, done that. Now get out of my damn temple before I send _you_ there as well." Shaina's aura was filled with pure flaming hatred as she stared Deathmask in the eyes and shot a bolt of electricity at him. The Cancer Saint ducked, and a large chunk of stone fell from his temple wall.

"Hey guys?" a voice demanded sleepily.

"WHAT?!" snapped Shaina and Deathmask at the same time.

"Is everything ok?" Aiolia walked into view from the back entrance of the temple. Deathmask crossed his arms. "I heard loud noises, and was afraid that someone was attacking."

"We're fine, Aiolia," Deathmask quickly explained, "Shaina and I are just…uh…hanging out." Aiolia raised an eyebrow, but did not comment further.

"All right…you two have fun then."

"What's going on? Is everything all right?" Marin interrupted, also entering, but from the front door. Shaina rushed over to her comrade-in-arms.

"I think I'm going to end it. Now," Shaina hissed. "Damn it. I hate him so damn much! _Damn_ it." Marin put a hand on Shaina's shoulder.

"Now you're just using extraneous language. Come on, let's go talk about this elsewhere." As the Aquila Saint led her now-friend away, she called back to the men who were standing behind them. "Aiolia, have a talk with Deathmask, please?" Aiolia gulped as he nodded.

* * *

"So what is it that annoys you about him?" Marin demanded, having situated herself safely out of range of the Cancer temple, and out of range of the entire temple section of Sanctuary, in fact. Shaina made a face. This was visible to Marin, due to the fact that both females had removed their masks after reaching Marin's hut and allowed themselves some ventilation from the stuffy heat. 

"He—urr—Everything!" Shaina exploded. "The damn bitch thinks he's king of the world. He can't even _try_ to be nice to me, and he's constantly bitching about what's wrong with _me_!" Marin smiled briefly.

"Have _you_ ever tried to be nice to _him_?"

"I…" Shaina broke off, thinking back. To be honest, she had never been terribly kind to Deathmask either.

"Maybe you should try it sometime. He's not always so bad." Shaina raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you say _that_? Doesn't your boyfriend hate him?" Marin smiled again.

"Well…Aiolia and Deathmask were indeed on less than friendly terms for a long time. But I asked Deathmask to talk to him a few weeks ago, and they've agreed to at least be civil with each other if they can't be friends." Shaina raised both her eyebrows now.

"Wait—he _agreed_?"

"That's what made me decide he wasn't so bad. I was scared to death when I asked him to talk to Aiolia, but he was perfectly courteous with me, and even with Aiolia."

"I don't know…I just hate it so much. I get up every day dreading that visit."

"Then why haven't you broken up with him yet? There must be _some_ reason."

"I already told Milo I'd be able to prove him wrong…" Marin now raised her eyebrows.

"And that's all? If it really makes you unhappy, then don't go anymore." Shaina was silent for several moments, and when she spoke again, her voice was quieter.

"It's supposed to be easier than this. You find a guy, he doesn't like you, so you find a hotter guy and get over the first one. That's what I thought it would be like." Marin laughed aloud.

"It's never easy, Shaina. Sometimes, you meet someone you think is the one, and then he's not, and you have to learn to get over it. To tell the truth, I had a crush on Milo when I first came to Sanctuary. He wasn't the one…I was just being a silly girl."

"What about Aiolia?"

"Actually, I didn't have a crush on Aiolia. I don't think I got the chance before I realized I loved him. And whatever he asks of me, even if he needs me to die, I wouldn't be able to say no. Even now, even after being together for a while, it's still not easy. Sometimes he has to leave, and sometimes I have to leave. And sometimes we're both just cranky with each other. But somehow, we always manage to save this, no matter what the cost. If you truly loved someone, you'd do that too. Shaina, I can't really tell you what to do. The most important thing is whether or not you care enough to try to continue this relationship. So tell me, do you really hate him that much?"

"I…don't know. I thought I did."

"But you still go to see him, even not wanting to?" Shaina nodded. "And you think he's hot…that's worth something." Shaina's head jerked up in surprise.

"I do not!" Marin was laughing hysterically.

"Yes, you do. You said that you thought if you found a guy who doesn't like you, then you should go find a hotter guy and get over the first one. I know you were thinking of Seiya as the first guy…so Deathmask must be the hotter one." Shaina's skin was around the same tone as a poinsettia, which made Marin laugh all the harder. "Deathmask…hot…" the Aquila Saint choked out.

"He is…" whispered Shaina. Marin paused in her giggling for a moment and simply stared at Shaina with a you-walked-right-into-that look.

"Well…_something_ about him attracts you. Maybe you should try to figure out what it is." Shaina looked down a little further.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aiolia was having a talk with Deathmask. The lion was rather nervous at first that Deathmask would take out his anger on anyone and anything, but the Cancer Saint had merely settled into an anti-social sulk. "Why don't you just break up with her?" Aiolia finally asked, after hearing Deathmask sporadically whine about Shaina for half an hour. 

"I already bet Aphrodite."

"So? If you're _that_ miserable around her, then dump her."

"Is that what _you_ do?"

"I haven't dated any other girls, to be honest." Deathmask rolled his eyes.

"Great. You'll be lots of help. _And_ you're in a perfect relationship. Figures." There was a pause.

"Not…really," said Aiolia. Deathmask turned to look at his fellow Saint.

"Seriously? I thought you and Marin were all cuddly and disgustingly romantic all the time." Aiolia smiled.

"Only sometimes. We have our days, though. We just…work through them. What bothers you so much about Shaina anyway?" Deathmask spat on the ground.

"She's a bitch." Aiolia hid a smile.

"I will give you that. But if she's so annoying, then why do you put up with it? I mean, if you don't dump her, you can at least stop having 'visits'. It's not like anyone really thinks you two are serious." Deathmask cocked an eyebrow at his neighbor. "What? Everyone in Sanctuary knows you're both dating because of bets. Now, whether or not you'll ever go further is beyond me, but right now, if you guys are so pissy around each other, then just stop being together."

"Isn't being together kind of required if you're dating?" Aiolia shrugged.

"En. There's being together, and there's being together. If you hate being around each other, then there's no point. But if you're in love, then even if you're not physically together, there's a mentality there." Deathmask looked thoughtful.

"Maybe we should try that…it would certainly make twelve months go faster." Aiolia smiled wisely.

"Maybe…"

* * *

Hmm...so. In the next installment: Shaina and Deathmask decide to cut off the "visits", Deathmask helps Aiolia matchmake Aiolos while Shaina helps Marin matchmake Lithos (yes, I stole Naotoki's pairing...if that's ok, nee-san), and Deathmask realizes something about himself.

Also, I highly encourage everybody to go post in the forum and make it active and happy...


	3. September

**Notes:** I am very very sorry for not updating this sooner. The problem is I was on a humongous writer's block, besides being really busy all the time. But yesterday, I suddenly got inspiration for another chapter, so here you go!

Thank-yous go out to the following:

For reviewing ch. 1: (15 reviewers!!) Fire-chan, mary jose, Anime 300, Naotoki Yamanouchi, Niteskye, Maddery, calm89, KohanaShunsgirl, LegendarySuperNamek, July-chan, irrelevantmaverick, PureDark006, Alya, Cielo, and L. Silver

For reviewing ch. 1 twice: PureDark006 and July-chan

For favoriting the story: Jennifer14, July-chan, L. Silver, SkoldyloneN, Stayka, Xing Xing-chan, and irrelevantmaverick

For putting the story on alert: Anime 300, Jennifer14, July-chan, Mischeivous Skyla, Narwe Silverflame, Niteskye, Xing Xing-chan, and alleka

For supporting me on the ssf site: Stayka (Shaina-san), Ariadne-Labrys (Ariadne), and Qubeley.

Thanks, and lots of hugs for all the support! Leave me a note if you have any thoughts!!

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_Month 2 – September_

"Remind me again why I'm here?" Deathmask demanded of Aiolia. The lion grinned.

"You agreed to help me, dear crab."

"And remind me again why I did _that_?"

"_I_ don't know. _You_ were the one who agreed," replied Aiolia with a shrug. The two Gold Saints were standing near the entrance of the Sagittarius temple, waiting for Aiolos to come out for a walk with them. According to the plan, a mass effort by a combination of Aiolia, Marin, Aphrodite, and Milo, the Saints involved would attempt to push Aiolos and Aiolia's former assistant Lithos together by various devious means. At the moment, Marin and Shaina were attempting to find Lithos and bring her back to the zodiacal temples, while Aiolia and Deathmask were trying to coax Aiolos to come outside.

Unfortunately, Aiolos seemed to know they were up to no good and absolutely refused to come out of his temple. "Please, 'Los?" Aiolia begged through the entranceway.

"No."

"Ai-o-lo-os," whined the Leo Saint.

"Aiolia, which part of 'no' is difficult to understand?"

"But…but…I'm your little brother." He pretended to sniffle. A sigh came from within Sagittarius temple.

"Aiolia, you are an adult—moreover, you are a Saint of Athena. If the fact that your brother refuses to come walk with you is going to give you a nervous breakdown, then I am sincerely worried for Athena's future."

Outside the temple, Aiolia cursed. "Damn it…Deathmask, do something."

"What do you want _me_ to do? I don't think your brother likes me better than he likes you." Aiolia did not reply, but simply gave his neighbor a dewy-eyed look. The Cancer Saint scowled, but at the same time muttered, "Go find Marin and Shaina, and tell them to bring Lithos here instead of to the meeting point. Aiolos might come out of his temple, but he's not going to move very far."

"What?" demanded a confused Leo Saint.

"Do you want me to help you or not?"

"All right, I'm going," said Aiolia before running towards Scorpio. As soon as Aiolia was out of sight, a faintly devious gleam appeared in Deathmask's eyes.

* * *

Aiolia had hoped to find Marin and Shaina without Lithos, but he seemed to be having a particularly unlucky day. Just as he walked out of Mu's temple, he saw Marin and Shaina coaxing his former assistant to visit Aiolia with them. 

"Hi, ladies," he muttered, at a loss for what else he could say. Shaina gave him a what-the-hell-are-you-doing-here look. "Haven't seen you in a while, Lithos," he continued sheepishly, unable to explain his motives to the other two females.

"Aiolia!" the girl cried, wrapping her mentor in a large hug. "You look awesome!"

"Uh, thanks?" replied the Leo Saint. Lithos giggled.

"Marin and Shaina were telling me to go visit you, but I didn't want to bother you or anything." Aiolia smiled.

"Oh, you're not bothering me. Actually, I know who else would be delighted to see you. Why don't we all visit Aphrodite?" Aiolia suggested casually, earning even more confusion from Marin and Shaina. However, the statement was not too far off track, as the Pisces Saint had formed an unlikely bond with Lithos.

"All right!" agreed Lithos quickly.

As they left the steps of Aries temple, Marin moved back to fall in step with Aiolia. "What happened?" she murmured quietly, "I thought we were meeting in _your_ temple."

"Aiolos wouldn't come out. Deathmask told me to bring her to Sagittarius, so I had to find _something_ to say."

"Deathmask? What is he trying to do?"

"He said he'd get Aiolos out, but Aiolos is probably not going to move very far from his temple."

"What is he _doing_ to your brother?"

"I'm not sure I want to know."

Soon, the party reached Scorpio temple, where Milo smirked in their direction with a knowing wink that Lithos seemed to miss. Just as they reached the front of Sagittarius, a series of yelps could be heard emanating from the temple, and soon a very flustered Aiolos came charging out the entrance straight into the others. Mostly into Lithos. Aiolos paused, collected himself, and backed away a little with a furiously red face.

"Um. 'Scuse me. Hi, Lithos. Hi, guys."

"Is something wrong, Aiolos?" Lithos asked anxiously.

"Oh. No. Nothing." He blushed a little more.

"Are you sure?" said Aiolia, "I better go check it out." The Leo Saint took this opportunity to duck into the temple and figure out what Deathmask had been doing.

He ran into the Cancer Saint halfway through the temple.

"Did it work?" was the first thing Deathmask said, upon seeing Aiolia.

"Yes, but…what did you do?" Deathmask smirked.

"Nothing you need to know." Aiolia sighed.

* * *

Half an hour later, Marin, Shaina, Aiolia, and Deathmask left Sagittarius, having finally convinced Lithos and Aiolos that the two of them did not need to be chaperoned by the other four. Arm in arm, Marin and Aiolia veered off into Leo, leaving Shaina and Deathmask to walk on in uncomfortable silence. 

The lack of communication continued all the way into Cancer. Finally, Shaina stopped and broke the silence. "Why are you still following me?" she demanded, slight hostility apparent in her voice.

Deathmask looked around. They had reached the entrance of Cancer temple, and were about to continue down to Gemini. Why _had_ he kept walking, anyway? "Dunno," he told Shaina. "Guess I'll stop." And he simply stood at the doorway and watched her.

"What did you do to Aiolos anyway?"

"Let loose a whole family of spiders at the back entrance of his temple." The uncomfortable silence returned for a minute.

"All right. I'm going. You better not stalk me or anything." He sneered a little.

"Like I'd want to." Shaina shrugged.

"If you say so."

It took him a second to realize she had left without taking his bait.

* * *

Deathmask was sullenly kicking his wall again. What was with this woman, making him destroy architecture all the time? Why was he even pissed off, anyway? Absolutely nothing had happened in the past two weeks, really. 

"Deathmask?" a pretty feminine voice called. His head jerked up in excitement, but quickly bent back down again when he realized it was just Aphrodite. The Cancer Saint gave his wall a couple more kicks, just for good measure. "What are you doing, Angelo?" Aphrodite demanded sternly. "Stop that, it's bad for your wall."

"Don't care."

"Aw, what's wrong? Miss your girlfriend?"

"No." Deathmask let himself sink even deeper into his sulk, since Aphrodite was partly correct, and that fact annoyed the Cancer Saint immensely.

"What _has_ been up with you two lately, anyway?" continued Aphrodite nonchalantly. "I haven't seen her fight with you for a long time."

"None of your business, she-man." Aphrodite pretended to be shocked.

"Angelo! That was unkind of you."

"Still don't care." The Pisces Saint sighed.

"I'll be back later."

Approximately ten minutes after Aphrodite departed, Milo passed through Cancer on his way back from the training grounds. "Hey, Deathmask!" the Scorpio called cheerfully.

"What do you want?" Deathmask snarled in return.

"My, aren't we antisocial today? What's the matter, you missing Shaina or something?" Deathmask wondered why everyone was asking him that today. Maybe they were all in league.

"No," he told Milo, who grinned cheekily.

"Right. See you."

Almost fifteen minutes later, Aiolia passed through. "Hi," said the Leo Saint. Deathmask growled incomprehensibly. "Uh…is something wrong? Do you want me to get Shaina for you?" Deathmask cursed life in general and nosy people in particular.

"No."

"Do you want—?"

"Just leave me alone, thank you."

"Ok."

About five minutes later, Mu walked by. "Hello, Deathmask," the Aries Saint murmured serenely. Deathmask raised his eyebrows.

"Why is everyone being so genial to me today?" Mu looked mock-wounded.

"I'm genial to you _every_ day." Deathmask rolled his eyes.

"Ok, yes. But not _every_one who passes by is that nice."

"Well, you _are_ in a very bad mood today, and none of us really want to die all that much." Mu smiled. "But if you've had a fight with Shaina or something, any of us would be glad to help you two talk it out." Deathmask's eye ticked a couple times.

"Why does everyone assume it's about Shaina?!" snapped the Cancer Saint irritably.

"Be…cause…it…is?" Mu queried.

"No! It's not!"

"All right. If that's what you say." Mu sauntered out of Cancer.

Ten minutes passed again. Deathmask had finally convinced himself to stop kicking his temple before it collapsed on him, and found a book. He attempted to read, but mostly found himself staring blankly at it for long periods of time. Shaka entered the temple. "Good day," said the blond Buddha.

"No, it's actually a very, very bad day." Shaka smiled slightly.

"That's all right. As long as you follow the flow of nature, things will eventually return to their best state, and all your problems will be solved one way or another. And, of course, if you want someone to help you talk to Shaina, just ask anyone."

"Why do you _all_ think it has to do with her?"

"She's your girlfriend, isn't she? And anyway, everyone has been saying it."

"Oh, great," Deathmask retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Good day, Deathmask," Shaka said, walking towards the exit. Before the Cancer Saint could protest, Shaka added, "Because I am very sure that it is about to turn into a very, very _good_ day indeed." Deathmask glared around himself in circles, wondering why everyone was walking through his temples and asking the same things.

After five more minutes of staring at the book, Deathmask was vaguely aware of Camus walking into his temple. The Aquarius Saint was silent as he passed by, and Deathmask waited for the inevitable.

When Camus still had not said anything by the time he was past Deathmask's seat, the Cancer Saint grew impatient. "So?" he demanded of his fellow Saint.

"So…?" demanded Camus curiously, stopping and looking over at Deathmask.

"Aren't you going to say it?"

"Say…what?"

"Ask what's going on with me, like everyone else."

"Well, I wasn't _going_ to, but sure. What's going on with you?" Deathmask rolled his eyes again.

"Everyone keeps being _nice_ to me today."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"But…people aren't usually nice to me! This is just weird!"

"Yes, but…isn't that a good thing?" Camus repeated.

"And then, _everyone_'s been saying it has to do with Shaina! How does _everybody_ know this?" Deathmask continued ranting, seemingly oblivious to Camus's deadpan comments.

"Because everyone's been talking about it? Never mind that she's your girlfriend."

"And seriously. Why is everyone walking through my temple today?"

"Everyone walks through your temple everyday. You just don't notice 'cause they usually don't all talk to you about Shaina." Camus glanced back at the entrance. "Look, I'd love to keep talking, but I really do have to continue off to my meeting with Shion. I'll give you a rain check for this." Deathmask nodded, and Camus headed on through Cancer.

Nearly as soon as Camus left, Marin came walking hurriedly past. She did not seem to notice Deathmask's presence until she passed him by a few steps, when she froze still and seemed to remember something important. Upon seeing Deathmask staring at her from his seat, she called, "Oh! Deathmask! I'm supposed to tell you—Shaina says she's coming down here." Deathmask gaped, unable to respond. "Don't be too cruel to her, eh?" Marin winked and continued merrily on her way.

After several long minutes, Deathmask heard footsteps approaching his temple, but the sound soon stopped. He waited on tenterhooks for a while. When nothing happened, Deathmask edged unsurely to the front entrance and moved slowly out from the shadows.

Shaina was standing on his front step.

"Hi, Shaina," he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head with one hand. She gawked at him for a moment. "What?!" he finally growled, annoyed at himself for being anything close to personable.

"You…" Shaina attempted to make sense of the fact that Deathmask had not only just greeted her, he had called her by her name instead of "bitch" or "whore" or some such.

"Never mind," he interrupted quickly, as he turned to go back into his temple. "Coming?" he called back to her. After a few seconds of what he assumed was hesitation, Shaina's footsteps followed him as he returned to the nether parts of his temple.

There was more silence as he sat down and returned to staring at his now-closed book. Shaina sat down next to him on another chair. After a while, Deathmask finally spoke up. "Hey, Shaina?"

"Yes?" she replied. Deathmask wondered why she hadn't just started cursing at him.

"Could you…uh…come visit more often?"

"What?"

"You know…like you used to?"

"You—what the hell is wrong with you?! _You_ asked me to stop coming to your temple, so I haven't! And now you want me to come again? What's _wrong_ with you?" Deathmask felt his anger rise, and yet, he felt like he enjoyed this.

"What's wrong with _me_?" he repeated back, "What's wrong with _you_, bitch?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong with me?" Shaina scoffed indignantly.

"You're no _fun_ anymore!"

"Fun?!" the woman fumed, "You're one to talk! When has our relationship _ever_ been fun?"

"It's more fun like _this_!" Deathmask shouted back, "You were at_ least_ fun to argue with until you started avoiding any arguments I started!"

"You son-of-a-bitch! I was trying to be _nice_ to you! I thought it would make the time go faster if we were at least civil!"

"No! It doesn't! And why the hell did you want to be nice to me anyway?"

"Marin said…" Shaina's voice grew quiet. "…that you weren't so bad all the time. She said if I tried to be nice to you, then you would be tolerable, and it would make things easier."

"Me?" Deathmask demanded huffily, "Not so bad? Tolerable?" He shook his head. "Uh-uh. I am not nice. Ever."

"You helped out with the Lithos-Aiolos thing," Shaina pointed out.

"Yes, but, still. I am not nice. I am sarcastic and evil and sadistic. And while we're on this subject, so are you."

"What?!"

"You are not a 'nice' type of person, Shaina! Whenever you try to be polite and kind and gentle, it just seems affected and unnatural! And it's damn boring when you never get mad at me or scream at me!"

"You _like_ me fighting with you?" demanded Shaina incredulously. "I thought that was why we stopped the visits." Deathmask considered this for a moment—but only a moment—before answering.

"Yes, all right? At least I'm a little less pissy when we argue. Maybe it's cathartic or something." Shaina began giggling at Deathmask suggesting their arguments were cathartic. "What?!" the Cancer Saint shouted.

"Arguing with me is your therapy? No wonder you're screwed up." Shaina continued giggling as Deathmask grumbled.

"Yeah, well. It's who I am," he muttered.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind next time I feel the need to scream at something."

"Thanks."

"And Deathmask?"

"What?"

"While we're talking about politeness, don't call me 'Shaina' all the time. It's kind of weird when you consistently don't call me 'bitch.'" Deathmask grinned.

"Well, if your name annoys you more than 'bitch' does, I may as well just call you 'Shaina' from now on."

"Damn you."

"Damn you, too."


End file.
